Christmas Again

When I was a child, it seemed that Christmas just wouldn't come fast enough, but from my senior's perspective now, it comes way too quickly. But I still love it.

Some of My Favorite Things of this Season are...........

The wealth of wonderful music that fills all of December
Holiday lights on every street that brighten up the dark, rainy, wet nights
Grandchildren's Christmas concerts
Tree ornaments that hold a special memory
Connecting with friends & family from far and near
Children's anticipation
Parties and good food
Helping needy here and in other countries
Sharing time with someone who does not have family nearby
Cards & Letters that let me know that they thought about me
Family gatherings

We enjoy all these things in memory of Jesus birth. Wow! He left Heaven, with all it's beauty and glory, to come to this crazy world, in the form of the most vulnerable thing... a human baby.
To die for me. Once again, I am in awe of this reality, humbled and so thankful. Hallelujah!

Dance with Jesus

A few years ago, a song with a strange name was played often on Christian Radio. It immediately became my favorite. It is called "Untitled Hymn" (Come to Jesus) sung by Chris Rice.

The progression of each verse builds with each key word....Come, Sing, Fall, Cry, Dance and culminating with Fly to Jesus. From the moment I heard it, I called it "Matthew's Song" and still cry every time I listen to it.

Matthew died four days ago and is finally free of his frail, deformed body. No more pain and suffering. I loved him so much.

As I prepared flowers for his funeral, I listened to the words once again and I cried many tears of sadness because he will be missed, and tears of joy because I imagine him running, flying and dancing with Jesus.

He will be waiting to welcome me and be able to run, dance and finally speak and say,"Hi Grammie".

Busy, Busy

My apologies for being away from blogging for so long.

How are you doing? How have you been?
When I ask this question, most people will, say " Fine...really busy!"
It seems that we answer "Busy" as if it is an admirable, very good thing...not lazy!
I sometimes chuckle to myself when people almost brag about their busy-ness and yet complain about how busy they are. I maintain that most of our busy-ness is our own fault brought on by the choices we make, so why do we complain about it.

Staying active and involved in many wonderful causes and relationships is good, but in todays' world, it takes an act of the will, to be still and quiet. I want to enjoy such moments more often right here and now in my own backyard; without having to chase, fly or drive for miles to some remote cabin or all-inclusive for a few costly days of it.

"Be still and know that I am God."

Weeds

If Eve could only see the consequences of listening to the serpents lies, she would have thought twice before eating that accursed apple.
The result...weeds, weeds, and more weeds. While I was fighting them today, I was reminded of the parallells between weeds and evil/sin.

Weeds are prolific.
They multiply.At the slightest touch, popweed scatters hundred of little seeds.
Dandelion flowers develop into fluffy puff balls so that the breeze can scatter seeds all over the garden.
Long blackberry vines hang over my fence and if they get near the soil they put down roots immediately.
A flat, spreading nameless plant infested my vegetable garden. I try to dig it out very carefully because any little leaf that falls to the ground roots a new plant.
Weeds need no fertilizer or "weeding" to flourish.

Chickweed forms a green blanket almost over night.
More weed species are emerging which I have never seen before.

If the roots are not completely removed,it will soon grow a new plant. Root systems can travel underground and emerge on the other side of a fence. Horsetail is almost impossible to eradicate because their roots seem almost elastic.

A buttercup seemed to mock me today."Here I am in the center of your heather. Just try and dig me out without killing your precious little plant. ha ha."

After working in the warm sunshine "by the sweat of my brow" it was a satisfying feeling to see the garden clean and weed free. The good can flourish & bloom beautifully for a spell. What a lovely sight, but not for long; so the battle continues. I just cannot stop fighting those ------ weeds!

I must also tend to the garden of my heart. Dig out the weeds of jealousy, pride, laziness and selfishness to give flowers of love, empathy, kindness & truth a chance to flourish.

Thots about Lot

Even though I have re-read this Genesis story several times, I keep mulling over lessons & impressions of this relationship between Abraham & Lot.

God asked Abraham to leave home & country for an unknown destination. We are not told why he took Lot with him. Perhaps he was his favorite nephew, perhaps Lot was an orphan, perhaps he wanted adventure, perhaps he was a juvenile delinquent who needed some strong mentoring, perhaps he was exceptionally good with goats and lambs.
I believe God blessed Lot because of Abraham.

Both became wealthy as their flocks increased in number. They soon discovered there was not enough green pasture and fresh drinking water to supply the needs of both herds. Fearing that violence would ensue, Abraham wisely offered his nephew a peaceful solution..."Choose which land you would like to claim."

Lot selfishly chose the lush Jordan Valley, which was well watered with fertile pastures. This seemed like a wise choice, but Lot did not take into account the physical and spiritual dangers he would encounter there. "Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom".
It seems that he eventually moved right into that wicked city, because he "sat in the gate", which imples a governing position.
This infamous city is still refered to as most evil to this day. It spawned the term "Sodomy". Their pride led them to believe they could live any way they chose, and without consequences. They were unashamed of their actions, infact, proud of their "alternative lifestyles" and perverse ideas - just like our sophisticated, progressive cities of today.

Battle between neighboring kings resulted in the seige of Sodom. Lot and his family were also taken captive. Who came to his rescue? Uncle Abraham! He mobilized over three hundred of his household and chased after them and freed Lot and his whole entourage.

When I hear or see people who are in dire straits because of stupid, unwise choices...problems of their own making.... I tend to lose patience and give up on them. Abraham didn't!

When the angels, disguised as men, came visited Abraham to tell him about the God's
imminent judgement on Sodom; who interceded repeatedly for Lot's home town? Uncle Abraham!

Later when fire and brimstone was about to fall, the angel men had to literally drag Lot out of the city. Why did Lot want to stay there? Perhaps he loved the luxuries of his lifestyle too much. Maybe he couldn't get his wife and family to move. Maybe he thought he could influence the city with his good example, trying to be a good witness for God Jehovah.

By the time I had finished reading the last of Lot's story, I had developed quite a loathing for the man.
But then I was reminded of the verse in 2 Peter 2:7 (The Message) which sheds quite a different light on him.
"God rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day."
(King James) "Lot was vexed.."
God, in his incredible longsuffering patience and love, saw his inner spirit, his heart, his struggles and treated him with mercy. God did not give up on him.

Wow....I am humbled. My perspective and evaluation of Lot has changed.
And I still think Uncle Abraham's powerful intercessory prayer was a major determining factor.

I am thankful for second, third or tenth chances. I am so grateful for prayers prayed on my behalf. Thank you God, for your love and mercy.

Living in the Ark

Now I am into Genesis...where it all began. Chapter six - The Story of Noah.
Many expeditions have been made to prove or disprove the existence of the great flood. To the skeptics, it is a fairy tale, a joke, a silly impossible story.
It's so unbelievably unreal, that it is natural to doubt its' validity.

I choose to accept the biblical account as true. But I can't help but ponder.....hmm.

How did the animals know when to start walking, flying or slithering towards the ark?
Was Noah's wife a good mother-in-law?
How many pairs of species came on board?
What did the family eat? How did they cook?
Where and how did they dispose of sewage and waste?
Where did they go for peace & quiet?
Did they rest on the Sabbath?
Was Noah's family in full agreement with the plan?
Where did they store all the food for the animals?
Did they get seasick?
Where or how did they get water to wash or drink?
How many clothes did they pack?
Did animals try to eat each other?
What was the temperature in the Ark?
What did they use for lighting?
How could they keep their sanity, confined for 150 days till land was dry
enough to disembark?
Did they ever doubt God?

I imagine and I wonder.

Revelation

The biblical writer, John, calls his book "Revelation", and what a revelation it is! The imagery and descriptions of the visions he saw are so bizarre and "out of this world".

I would not be at all surprised if todays script writers of modern science fiction/ animated monstor movies have taken ideas from this book.
I must confess that Revelation is not my favorite. It has always left me with a confused, eerie, uneasy feeling. But this time I am reading it in the contemporary language of "The Message".

Like a great finale to a fireworks show, Peterson writes...."The Bible ends with a flourish; vision and song, doom and deliverance, terror and triumph. The rush of color and sound, image and energy, leaves us reeling. But if we persist through the initial confusion and read, we begin to pick up the rhythms, realize the connections, and find ourselves enlisted as participants in a multidimensional act of Christian worship."

Hearing a good choir sing the Hallelujah Chorus gives me tingles all over. This morning I really got that feeling reading the following words in chapter five. What a picture of worship!

"I looked again. I heard a company of Angels around the Throne, the Animals, and the Elders---ten thousand times ten thousand their number, thousand after thousand after thousand in full song: THE SLAIN LAMB IS WORTHY! TAKE THE POWER, THE WEALTH, THE WISDOM, THE STRENGTH! TAKE THE HONOR, THE GLORY, THE BLESSING!

Then even more joined the singing...can you imagine! Every creature in Heaven and earth, in underworld and sea...all voices in all places.

TO THE ONE ON THE THRONE! TO THE LAMB! THE BLESSING, THE HONOR, THE GLORY, THE STRENGTH, FOR AGE AFTER AGE AFTER AGE.

YES!

About Dancing

I watched an elderly, smiling couple waltzing across the ballroom floor...a perfect romantic picture of sychronized movement and rhythm.

Since my husband and I grew up in an environment where dancing was considered evil, forbidden and frowned upon, we never learned how.

Yes, we have tried, but our stilted, awkward movements usually result in a comedy act rather than an activity of grace and enjoyment.

One night we were dining with friends at a fancy restaurant. We were enjoying the live entertainment of a trio and band. They offered to do special requests for the guests. Since this was our 40th anniversary, I asked them to please sing, "The Rose", one of my husbands favorites.

After a few songs, the singer spoke into the speaker, "And now we'd like to do a special request for John & Esther, who are celebrating their 40th anniversary, and we ask them to take the dance floor at this time."

Well, my husband gave me this shocked, "no way" look. But they were waiting for us, so I said, "We have to do it." I dragged him onto the floor, and said,"Just follow me, wiggle your hips and smile."

I laughed through the whole song as they sang all the verses and repeated the chorus. John was not enjoying this experience at all. He kept saying, "I never knew this song was so long." I got a fit of giggles and laughed through the whole thing. I guess it looked like we were having fun because later in the evening, a gentleman even came to our table and said, "Why don't you dance again. I really enjoyed watching you." Too funny.

When dancing with a partner, it works best if one person knows where he/she is going and is allowed to lead and the other follows.

A few days ago I got this interesting article from a friend, called "Dancing with God".

It focused on the word Guidance which contains the word dance. The first letter G reminds us of God, followed by "u" and "i".

God, you and I dance. God, you and I dance. (interesting observation)

These thoughts came to mind. If I just allow God to lead, the dance can be beautiful because he knows the steps.

Some days our dancing is very awkward because I want to lead, sometimes it is slow and quiet because I am sad or tired. Other days the dance is happy, light and free.... some days He just carries me.

Reminds me of the beautiful song, "Lord of the Dance", but we'll leave that one for another time.